She’s free to express both of those traits at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley, where she can be found four days a week, coloring, jumping rope and playing games with friends.

Last year, the club also helped quench her curiosity about nature by sending her to a 72-acre summer camp on the border of the San Bernardino National Forest.

Through scholarships made possible by The Orange County Register’s Campership Fund, Faith and other club members received a traditional summer camp experience for seven days.

The soon-to-be fifth-grader says the trip made a lasting impression on her because she was able to try new things, including canoeing in a lake and hiking up a giant rock.

Highlights of her trip include learning how to do underwater flips in the pool, catching bugs in a jar and watching them squirm, and making ice cream by hand.

Faith’s favorite part of the trip was participating in the camp’s X-Club because it allowed her to connect to nature. She particularly enjoyed the day she helped counselors build a wooden fort big enough to house three people. Her job was to hand pieces of broken wood to the adults, who put them in place.

“That was really cool and exciting,” she said. “I like that I got to explore.”

To commemorate her camp experience, she bought a shirt emblazoned with paw prints and the camp’s name.

“I still wear it,” she said, smiling.

Faith’s mom, Shirlean Derego, 48, said the adventure made a lasting impression on her daughter, and added that she was grateful for the scholarship.

“I would not have been able to afford it,” said Derego, a hair stylist.

Faith hopes to return to camp.

“I’m glad I went because it was a really fun experience and I had a lot of friends,” she said. “I would like to go again because there are so many fun and exciting things you can do there.”